It costs some to play some
by Silentlamb
Summary: Inuyasha is trying to impress Kagome with music, without the music. Huh? Miroku discovered why he was so shy. He totally sucks! How's he supposed to impress her like that? Soon after, a demon arrives, saying he will help him. But there's ALWAYS a catch.


_**Hey guys. I was watching an episode on Futurama (which I do not own) and I saw the cutest episode. The one where Fry wants to impress Leela with music but has absolutely no skill whatsoever and so he and Bender goes down to robot hell to get some sort of skill. The music was so beautiful and the plot was so sweet it sent me to tears. Almost. Well anyway, I thought, it would be adorable if Inuyasha tried to do something like that. Cause, it kinda implies the only skill he has is the sword so. -shrug- Only with demons cause of obvious reasons. I told myself not to cause I have way too much work to do on my other stories but I really wanted to do it. So, here we go.**_

_**Original Summary: Inuyasha wants to impress Kagome with music, since everything else is just insensitive. In secret of course, he practices with the flute. There is just one slight problem. He sucks at it.**_

_One last thing. Some of these characters are OOC. Well, from where I look at it, just Inuyasha. Slightly. He's still got the whole stubborness thing goin on there, but there is still going to be some OOCness. So, just giving you the heads up._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Futurama, nor Inuyasha. I own just about nothing. -sigh- **

**The cost to play:**

A monk named Miroku walked through the village, smiling at women, but not really trying anything. True Sango wasn't here at the moment, but who was to say she wouldn't come bursting out of nowhere. She's been doing that a lot lately. Miroku looked up at the blue sky. It was just about noon. Things were way too quiet. There were no yelling, no adults acting overly immature. Just the distant child giggle or a horse neighing.

'Well of course.' He realized. 'Kagome's gone. Back to her world. Inuyasha's either pacing the Bone Eater's well or sulking as usual.'

'That Inuyasha.' Miroku thought to himself. 'He'll never get Kagome's heart if he continues this.' However it was obvious that in order for Inuyasha to completely deny this, he would have to do the exact opposite. Miroku grinned at how easy his friend could be read.

He passed a hut and a small paddy field into a forest. With nothing else happening, no demon attacks, or a sacred jewel shard nearby, he might as well take a walk.

The forest was quiet. There were no animals at his presence, as they should be. Wild animals did not go near humans unless they had a reason too. It's the same with animals attacking. Demons however, I'm pretty sure they only attack humans if they're hungry, or have a mad lust for power. Either way, demons have been known to attack people. That's why humans fear demons, even if they have nothing to fear. Half demons, hanyou, are often in this predicament. And people shun, beat, outcast, falsely accuse, fear, or, just plain hate them. Quite sad really.

'Well, this hanyou is treated much better.' Miroku thought, referring to Inuyasha, and kept walking. Inuyasha is stronger then most half-demons and has great skill at the sword, especially with the powerful Tetsusaiga. Miroku smirked. "The only thing I haven't seen Inuyasha do is sing."

Just as those thoughts left his head, a high pitched squeak rang through his ears, causing him to fall to his knees and press his hands as hard as he could to his head, attempting to deafen himself against the horrible sound. A couple birds who were fluttering about playfully earlier took flight and flew away squawking like mad.

"What the heck was--"

"Damn!" A voice he knew only too well barked to the trees. "Why can't I get this right?"

"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked out loud. "What the...?" There was more squeaking, a ploot sound then another high-pitched squeak. Miroku walked, actually, more like jogged towards the sound, thinking... maybe a demon or something. He came across a sign, which was actually a piece of bark, on it was a scrawl so messy, he couldn't make out but it said something along the lines of "Goron Arabanou", or complete gibberish, then there was a blob of ink that said God knows what.

Miroku kept walking, looking up in the trees cause Inuyasha just enjoys being up in the trees. It's probably because he thinks he can be alone and not seen if he's up there.

Miroku spotted a blur of red clashing with the mix of green and yellow. "Inuyasha!" Inuyasha started, fumbled with something, and looked down. "What? Can't you read?"

"Read what?"

"That sign I put up. Don't tell me you didn't see it."

" I couldn't understand what it said. Your handwriting is atrocious."

"Bite me."

"What did that even say?"

"GO... A-WAY!" Inuyasha pronounced slowly and loudly, like talking to an infant.

"And what about that other blob?"

"Something bit me and what should have been a picture of a tree, was screwed up."

"Uh-huh..."

"If your just going to be like that, go away!"

"What are you doing? I heard a horrible sounding demon a ways off."

Inuyasha winced. "That- that was me."

"What were you doing that could sound so horrible?"

"I- uh... was, was practicing bird calls! Yeah!"

"You then need some serious lessons my good man."

Inuyasha growled. "Yeah... thanks."

"Inuyasha. There ye are, are ye practicing?" An old woman's voice sounded behind Miroku.

"Ah Lady Kaede."

Inuyasha flinched. "Dammit." he muttered.

"Are you the one teaching him bird calls?"

"I know not about bird calls, but aye, I am teaching him to play the flute. I think it is coming along a little better then when yonder hanyou first started. Would ye like to listen?"

"Old hag, I told you it was a secret!" Inuyasha barked at her. "Besides, I can't play with people watching me!"

"Neither can you play without someone watching you." Miroku muttered under his breath.

"Ye shall never be able to play thy flute in front of Kagome if thy cannot play in front of a someone like Miroku."

Inuyasha flushed crimson. "Kaede! It was supposed to be a secret!"

Miroku was intrigued. "Kagome you say. Inuyasha, you are changing after all."

"G- go away!"

"Ah, but it is a good thing. Where did you get the flute, though?"

"From me."

Miroku turned "You Lady Kaede?"

"Aye. Inuyasha came to me, very embarrassed on his part, I gave him that Shakuhachi Bamboo Flute (a real flute actually), and since I have learned quite a bit about how to play it, I offered to give him lessons."

"Yeah... PRIVATE lessons." Inuyasha interjected.

"Inuyasha, I've never known you to do something like this." Miroku shouted up to him.

Inuyasha went red again. "I want to show her I appreciate her with music cause, I dunno, I think she likes that sort of thing. But I can't freakin play this stupid thing."

"Come on, give us your best. It can't be that bad." Miroku urged.

Inuyasha took the flute out and stared at it, like it was out to get him. Then he looked at Miroku with a sympathetic-starved look. Miroku ignored the look. Inuyasha took a deep breath and put the mouth piece to his mouth.

"Remember Inuyasha, hold the note as long as you can." Kaede advised.

"Yeah yeah..." Inuyasha grumbled, and began to play, his hands fumbling with the five holes jutted into the flute. The flute gave a high-pitched whistle that screeched across the forest, scattering birds that were perched nearby. Kaede's good eye twitched. Inuyasha's next notes were almost child-like. Giving that slow, hesitant twitter, then all of a sudden that high-pitched bark.

"Inuyasha, attack the note." Kaede instructed. The music then began to squeak and become loud and shrill.

"Ai! Inuyasha stop, stop." Kaede shouted. Inuyasha removed the offending instrument that was creating that music away from his mouth.

"See, I told you I suck."

Kaede sighed and turned to Miroku. "I have tried to teach yonder hanyou. He is either unteachable or just too arrogant."

"What!"

Miroku nodded.

"What are you talking about, I tried to learn this stupid thing! This stupid piece of shit! Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit! I hate this! I hate you! I hate both of you! Goddammit, you piss me off!"

They both ignored Inuyasha's swearing. Miroku and Kaede bowed to each other, and Kaede moved onward back to the village. By then, Inuyasha's temper had pretty much cooled down. A bit. Well, at least he wasn't swearing. He was just sitting in the tree fuming.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called up.

"What do you want?" Came his arrogant reply.

"Would you like to take a walk with me?"

An inaudible grumbling could be heard.

"I'll listen to your problems."

"I don't have any problems!"

"You can take your anger out on the road."

Inuyasha turned, gave him an icy glare, got up, and jumped down. "I'm going with you because I have nothing better to do, NOT because I have problems."

Miroku nodded and they walked through a path through the forest in silence. Miroku broke it. "You know, having problems comes natural, it doesn't mean your insane."

"I am not in... whatever you just said."

"I just said you weren't."

Inuyasha turned to yell at him, stopped, then turned back forward and muttered. "I know you were thinkin' it."

"Well, I wasn't. Anyway, practice makes perfect. You can't expect to make it in one day."

Inuyasha muttered something. "What did you say?" Miroku asked. "Speak up."

"Four weeks." Inuyasha said just a smidgen louder.

"Oh Buddha." Miroku commented. "Well, keep trying."

"I have been trying you lecherous, false monk!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Ok, I protest, you can call me lecherous, but how dare you call me a false monk!" Miroku rebutted.

"Well anyway, _false monk, _I can't, no way, can not, play this stupid thing of a flute. I don't know if it hates me or what, but there is no way I can play this thing. I can hear all this great music in my head, I have all these great ideas, but my stupid hands can't even keep up. The only way I'll be able to play decently, is if I steal the skills from someone." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Wow. I didn't know you had any taste at all, but I guess I'll have to take your word for it." Miroku replied.

"You don't help." Inuyasha glared at him. Miroku smiled innocently. The path came to a stop and they entered a field of long grass that waved with the wind, looking almost like the ocean. Inuyasha saw a dark creature go through the grass, almost like a shark, before sinking back into the grass.

Inuyasha drew his sword, the almighty Tetsusaiga. "Miroku, theres a demon out there."

"So close to the village?"

"I dunn--" Inuyasha was cut off when the demon, creature, whatever it was, leaped out of the grass and landed to close to Inuyasha. Inuyasha pulled back the sword at it.

It was a lizard demon, dark purple, with biting red eyes and a long lashing tail.

"This should be easy." Inuyasha commented. Miroku nodded in agreement. Inuyasha put the sword back in its sheath. "I don't even want to bother, Miroku, you take care of him." Miroku took out some sacred sutures and threw one at him. The lizard disappeared just as the paper left the monk's hands.

"What the? Teleportation?" Miroku asked.

"It's in the trees!" Inuyasha pointed. Miroku threw more Sutures at it. The lizard blurred first, but disappeared once again.

"Inuyasha, it's not teleportation. It's just fast." Miroku realized.

"Thanks for pointing that out." Inuyasha said dryly. "Whatever. It's just like Sesshomaru. That should make it easier to take out."

Miroku felt movement behind him and swung his staff almost without thinking. It drew blood that splattered on the ground, but the cut was not fatal and the demon managed to get away.

"All it has is speed. It has no power." Miroku yelled to Inuyasha. Just as the words were out of his mouth, the lizard demon tackled Inuyasha while he was off guard. Inuyasha hit the ground and the lizard demon appeared before in front of them on two legs.

"Wait." It called out in a scaly voice. "Inuyassssha. I hear of your predicament."

"What are you talking about? And how do you know my name?" He yelled at the demon.

"You wisssh to play the flute?" It asked.

"What its it to ya?"

The lizard demon held out in its claws a flute. Inuyasha stared at it, then searched his kimono. "Damn, he stole it."

"You, half demon, wissssh to play the flute. I wissssh to have power. I can give you the sssskill to play the flute, for a trade."

"I'm not in this conversation anymore." Miroku said, backing off, leaving the two to settle personal affairs.

"I'm not really comfortable with trading with lizards."

The demon ignored him. "You have, what we lizzzard demonssss call sssstupid sssskill. You have no sssskill becausssse your brain issss ahead of your body. You are lucky to have massstered that powerful sssword ssso quickly." It hissed.

Inuyasha growled. "If you want a sacred jewel shard or anything like that, then forget it. Ain't gonna happen." Miroku sighed. 'So like him.'

"I only wisssh for you to help me defeat a particular human ssso I can assssorb her powersss and become more powerful."

'Something tells me not to...' Miroku thought.

"Deal."

"What?" Miroku started.

"Exxxcellent." The lizard demon hissed. A blue light surrounded the lizard and a separate glow surrounded Inuyasha. They were lifted from the ground a couple feet. Inuyasha acted uneasy and was flailing his hands like he was in water. The lizard remained calm, his head tilted upward. "Open your mouth." He commanded.

"Huh?" Just at that moment, some sort of beam... blast, thing, shot out of his mouth, and right into Inuyasha's mouth, forcing him to swallow.

Miroku grimaced in disgust. "Eww..."

At right that moment, the light disappeared and they both hit the ground. The lizard landed cleanly on his four legs. Inuyasha was not that fortunate to land so gracefully. He was still suffering from that blast, and was almost choking. He landed on the ground almost like Kagome had sat him. He got up coughing. "What the hell was that?" He yelled.

"My ssskill." The demon replied. "I gave you a majority of what I posssssssessssss. You are now fassst enough to play your flute properly." He threw the flute at him. "I ssshall be back to uphold my halfff of the bargain in two dayssss."

"Keh, thankssss." Inuyasha quickly covered his mouth.

"Oh, ssssssorry, that comes as a sssside-effect. It ssssshould wear off." The lizard explained before darting off into the field, noticeably slower then before.

Miroku walked up next to Inuyasha. "Okay... so, are you better?"

"I took lessons for a while, I should know how to play. If I suck, I'm gonna be pissssed." His eye twitched at his current accent.

"Hopefully not at me." Miroku muttered.

Inuyasha picked up the flute and put it to his mouth. A haunting sound that played, sounded professional. It sounded modest, yet powerful at the same time. The hairs on the back of Miroku's neck stood up. The birds that were singing earlier stopped, as if listening.

Then all of a sudden, the tone changed. Inuyasha, when he was playing earlier, had his eyebrows kneaded and his eyes closed, they opened and his eyes widened. He played a playful tone, like a bird fluttering around on a sunny day. He removed the flute from his lips. Miroku blinked.

"Kagome's back." Inuyasha stated simply and bounded off. Miroku stood there confused for a couple seconds before following behind him in hot pursuit. He was a fast runner, but not as fast as Inuyasha, so he lagged behind.

"Inuyasha, what was that all about?" Miroku asked between huffs.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded, not having difficulty at all.

"You know what I'm talking about. Your music suddenly got happy as soon as you caught Kagome's scent." Miroku teased. Inuyasha didn't answer, most likely embarrassment, he speed up using his demonic speed that Kagome always lost to on her race to the well to go home even on her bike. Even though Miroku was already sprinting, soon Inuyasha was just a speck in the sky.

Miroku slowed to a stop and shook his head knowingly, huffing and puffing.

**_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_**

_**This one's only gonna be two chapters long. Just puttin' it out there. I don't expect this one to be a hit but it would be pretty cool if it did. Please review, but please be gentle. I have a really small ego. It's reeeeally tiny.**_

_**As always,**_

_**Alena Rio.  
**_


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